On this week’s episode of DirtCast, Maddie and Megan are joined by staff writer Hazel Cills to discuss her piece, “Jack Antonoff and the Unrelenting Shadow of the Male Producer.” From Phil Spector to Dr. Luke, the men “behind-the-scenes” often refuse to stay there, looming large (and sometimes ominously) over women’s…

When Taylor Swift transformed into a reigning pop princess on 2014's 1989, Jack Antonoff was there. He was there again to help co-write her bad girl turn on Reputation in 2017. As a producer, he’s worked with St. Vincent’s Annie Clark on the minimalist piano pop for her 2017 record Masseduction,with Lorde on her…

A Star Is Born dragged my heart all around for months and months before I could even experience it. On paper, it sounded like a disaster: a vanity project from Bradley Cooper (who in addition to starring would be making his writer/director debut) featuring Lady Gaga (whose prior acting was mostly wooden, Golden Globe…

A new New York Times profile of Robyn, ahead of next month’s release of her first album in eight years, Honey, spends much of its time exploring the emotional depths of the Swedish pop singer’s music. One already well-documented anecdote that’s included bears another look, though, as it encapsulates the many layers…

Snapchat, home to horrors like Face Swap, Wrinkle Filter, and Puking Rainbow (RIP), has a new torture device intent on terrorizing innocents in the night: an animated Ed Sheeran, who appears out of nowhere to sing at you. Not even the filter that gives you mouths for eyes could spawn as many bad dreams as this.

Julia Michaels specializes in a certain kind of pop music therapy. As a songwriter, she sits down with singers like Justin Bieber, Selena Gomez, and Gwen Stefani; talks to them about what the hell is going on in their lives; and then scales that down into a perfect song: “Sorry,”“Hands to Myself,”“Used to Love You.”…

You woke up today not knowing you needed to hear from Willa Ford, whose sole, TRL-era hit single “I Wanna Be Bad” hit No. 22 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2001. Well, feast your eyes on some of the answers Ford gave to Billboard’s Ilana Kaplan in what initially seems like a flabbergastingly sprawling interview that…

Katy Perry has been busy lately, but her work has predominately taken place off-stage. After campaigning vehemently for Hillary Clinton during the 2016 presidential election, she has donated to Planned Parenthood, produced and bankrolled a pro-Muslim PSA, and participated in the Women’s March on Washington. But on…

Being forced to work under the producer/label boss she accused of abusing her sexually and emotionally has had dire consequences on Kesha’s creative output, according to a new countersuit filed by Kesha’s lawyers. Last year, Kesha’s request for a release from Dr. Luke’s Kemosabe Records was repeatedlydenied by judges.

In a Billboard cover story tribute/retrospective of George Michael’s career, the singer’s former manager Rob Kahane reveals that Michael’s death on Christmas day came as a surprise after the recent contact he’d had with the pop star:

The KLF were best known in the U.S. for their early ‘90s dance hits “3 AM Eternal” and “Justified and Ancient” (the latter featured country legend Tammy Wynette singing about an ice cream van and a fictional Mu Mu Land). The masterminds of Bill Drummond and Jimmy Cauty, the KLF was but one of several names for their…

Perhaps it’s Chainsmokers fatigue, or the fact that I still don’t know what Twenty One Pilots sounds like even after hearing their music multiple times, but in retrospect 2016 was an exceptionally disappointing year for pop megahits. Granted, I can barely remember anything that happened before November 9, but if we…

On this Election Eve, Hillary Clinton will hold two rallies: a final rally in Philadelphia, and a final final Get Out The Vote rally in Raleigh, North Carolina. Lady Gaga will take the stage at the latter event.

Earlier this month when Lady Gaga released “Perfect Illusion,” a scream-pop explosion that edges on rock, my immediate reaction was a physical cringe. Produced by Mark Ronson, BloodPop (Justin Bieber’s “Sorry”) and Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker, it’s the first single from her next album Joanne. While Gaga is known to…